Scott Courts

Senior Scientist/Metrologist

I enjoy working with the scientists and researchers who use our sensors in so many diverse applications from investigating subatomic particles to exploring the universe.

Dr. Scott Courts is an Applications Scientist at Lake Shore and has been active in the field of cryogenics for more than 30 years. Dr. Courts received his BSc in Physics from Marshall University and a Ph.D. in Experimental Solid State Physics from The Ohio State University in 1988. While at OSU, he studied the transition to superfluid turbulence in two-fluid flow of helium-II. In 1989, Dr. Courts joined Lake Shore as a Senior Scientist in our Sensor R&D Division. In this position, much of his focus was on developing thin-film thermometer materials exhibiting high ionizing radiation tolerance and low magnetoresistance offsets for use in accelerator applications. This work led to the development of Lake Shore Cernox™ sensors. Dr. Courts then moved to Lake Shore’s manufacturing engineering group in 2001 to fill the role of Applications Scientist and work on improving sensor products, processes, and testing. He has also served as Technical Director for Lake Shore’s thermometer calibration facility and worked to extend the calibration range capabilities to its current 20 mK lower limit and up to 900 K at the upper end. Currently, he serves as a metrologist/scientist with the responsibility of maintaining Lake Shore’s traceable thermometry scales. A member of the American Physical Society and the Cryogenic Society of America, Dr. Courts has published more than 35 articles on cryogenics/thermometry and served as a reviewer for various journals and proceedings. He has also taught short courses on cryogenic thermometry and instrumentation in both public and private settings for the past 20 years.

Resolution and Accuracy of Cryogenic Temperature MeasurementsD. Scott Holmes and S. Scott Courts, in “Temperature: Its Measurement and Control in Science and Industry,” Volume 6, Part 2, edited by J. F. Schooley, American Institute of Physics, NY (1992), pp. 1225 – 1230 (Presented at the Seventh International Symposium on Temperature, 28 April – 1 May 1992, Toronto, Canada).

Neutron and Gamma Radiation Effects on Cryogenic Temperature SensorsS. Scott Courts, D. Scott Holmes, and Philip R. Swinehart, in “Temperature: Its Measurement and Control in Science and Industry,” Volume 6, Part 2, edited by J. F. Schooley, American Institute of Physics, NY (1992), pp. 1237 – 1242 (Presented at the Seventh International Symposium on Temperature, April 28 – May 1, 1992, Toronto, Canada).